Overactive bladder

• Don’t delay a trip to the bathroom once your bladder is full. Make sure you have a place to go and can excuse yourself in social situations.
• Once in the bathroom, empty your bladder completely. Instead of straining muscles, stand up or shift position, then sit down and urinate again.
• To deal with urine leakage, use only all-cotton or incontinence pads (not menstrual pads). All-cotton pads are gentler on the skin and are more breathable. This helps prevent skin irritation and infection. Let the skin air out and dry when possible.

• Limit coffee, tea, sodas and other beverages with caffeine. Artificial sweeteners, fruit juices and alcohol can also bother your bladder. 
• Keeping a diary of what you drink and how you feel afterward can help you look for a connection between your diet and bladder symptoms. Share this diary with your doctor. 
• Drink 60 to 80 ounces of water per day. Drinking too much water will make you need to use the bathroom more often. Drinking too little water will make your urine concentrated and irritate your bladder. 
• Eat plenty of fiber to keep your bowels working normally, as constipation can worsen overactive bladder.

• Do yoga, especially poses designed to strengthen the pelvic floor region. 
• Do Kegel exercises 
• Ask your doctor if pelvic floor physical therapy can help you.

• Check whether any of your medications or supplements list overactive bladder or urinary incontinence as a side effect.
• Control your blood sugar levels if you have diabetes.
• Maintain a healthy weight with diet and exercise.
• Don’t smoke. Nicotine is a bladder irritant, and tobacco can cause urinary tract cancers. Smoking may also cause you to cough, which can cause bladder leakage.

Sacral nerve stimulation uses an implanted device to activate the nerve above your tailbone that controls the bladder. An in-office procedure can check if this controls your symptoms. If it works, a doctor can put the device in your body during a minor surgical procedure.

Tibial nerve stimulation uses a thin needle in the doctor’s office to stimulate a nerve on the inside of the ankle, which connects to the sacral nerve and helps control the bladder.

Overactive bladder may happen due to:

In addition, your bladder may spasm (contract) due to environmental cues, such as the sound of running water or the sight of the toilet.

Your provider wants to be aware of all your health concerns and connect you with the care you need. At your next appointment, try using words such as, “I’m concerned because there have been several times when I couldn’t control my bladder, and this hasn’t happened to me before. What do you recommend?"

• Bladder diary you fill out with your symptoms and bring to your appointment
• Cough stress test, in which you cough to see if you leak urine with a full bladder
• Cystoscopy, which places a camera into the bladder to look for problems
• Physical exam
• Post-void residual urine test, which does an ultrasound of the bladder after you urinate to see if your bladder empties completely
• Urinalysis to check your urine for signs of a urinary tract infection
• Urodynamic testing, a more complex type of testing of bladder function

Don’t ignore your symptoms. They could damage your bladder and kidneys or be a sign of an infection or other serious health condition. They may also affect your desire to participate in physical and social activities, which can contribute to anxiety and depression. Treatment can have a significant impact on your quality of life and your ability to be active and live your life the way you want.